To the Editor:

To: District Attorney David Eyster, Assistant DA Dale Trigg, Chief Investigator Andy Alvarado

The District Attorney’s public information posts must be available to all, whether it be on the official county website or on Facebook, the site of choice. Your call. But you cannot block access to the site at your discretion.

In June, I raised this issue with you. The block has returned. Please read the attached information, and act accordingly.  Otherwise, I will enlist legal support on behalf of local journalists.

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/civil-rights/practice/2019/blocking-social/?fbclid=IwAR2tqjfU9q2zHRNkXwmu9GzwCgxT32YoEiXwtzxuZi0hiQEB_Q7V0CDuOzI

https://knightcolumbia.org/blog/social-media-for-public-officials-101

“If a public official uses their account to carry out their role as an elected official, then their page or account is subject to the First Amendment. That means they cannot engage in most forms of censorship such as blocking someone or deleting someone’s comments just because of their subject or opinion. It is also generally unacceptable for the official to ask the platform to delete comments for them.”

-Mike Geniella, Media Consultant, Ukiah